David Fay's "confession" draws readers' ire: Editors' Blog: Golf Digest

David Fay's "confession" draws readers' ire

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

David Fay, though he rarely revealed it as Executive Director of the USGA, has a mischievous side, to say the least. When he revealed in the June issue that he'd hit a few shots with the 1-iron with which Ben Hogan
hit his famous shot to Merion's 18th in the 1950 U.S. Open, we thought it was a terrific column. Some readers were appalled.

Why in the world would you allow Fay's childish elitist, embarrassing, etc. "confession." I found the article totally unworthy of being published. To have this jerk writing a monthly column reflects poorly on the integrity of the game, and GD. Fay crossed a line using the historic 1-iron, and then crossed another line by bragging about it in a national publication.
Dave Mueller, Chaska, MN

David Fay's "confession" that he hit balls with the iconic MacGregor Hogan 1-iron showed a complete disregard for the preservation and conservation of treasures entrusted to the USGA Museum. While he may be an expert on the rules of golf, he has much to learn about caring for the artifacts that belong to all of us who appreciate and honor golf's history. Shame!
James Leaptrott, Portland, OR

The story of Hogan and the "famous" 1-iron shot he played at Merion is certainly one of golf's most famous. But I was hoping in light of this recent piece by Mr. Fay, you might take this opportunity to clarify something that has always bothered me. Specifically, did Hogan really use a 1-iron for that famous shot? I ask this because on page 13 of Hogan's masterful "Five Lessons," he discusses the shot in detail and states, "I went with a 2-iron and played what was in my honest judgment one of the best shots of my last round..." I was hoping you could shed some light on this intruiging bit of mis-clubbing?
H. Gordon Diamond, Redwood City, CA

We can't. Hy Peskin's famous photo doesn't shed any light either--it could be a 1-iron or a 2-iron. We know that Merion records say 1-iron, and the USGA says 1-iron and David Fay hit a 1-iron. But there are those who will say that Hogan and writer Herbert Warren Wind would never get that wrong--it must be a 2-iron. At this point, we choose to let the mystery be.
Bob Carney